On Sunday (18 May 2008), a few heritage enthusiasts (for want of a better phrase) organised the third in the series of heritage walks (the second walk was on whitefield's heritage in Bangalore. This one was to be in the heart of the city of Bangalore, the Krishna Raja Market area, or the K R Market, as it is called.

Having had a short briefing about the walk, that the Petey (commmercial area) thrives, the Kotey (fort) exists, but the Kerey (lake or water tank) and Thota (garden or orchard) are a part of history now, we all boarded a chartered BMTC bus and alighted in the Dharmaraya Swami Temple Road, in Thigalarapete.

Dharmaraya Temple Road sign, the main temple Ratha is seen at the back.

The Dharmaraya temple is intimately associated with the Thigala community, which celebrates the annual Karaga festival. The original temple, according to Suresh, dates back about 500 years.

Here's Chandrashekhar in the foreground, explaining about the Hazrat Pasha Shahid Dargah. where the Karaga festival stops in a show of mutual tolerance and faith, and fruits and flowers are exchanged between priests and maulvis.

The Dargah has a very interesting custom....devotees are given locks and keys; they click shut the locks on to the railings of the Dargah and throw the key away, symbolically locking their troubles away

Chandrashekhar requested one of the Maulvis himself to explain how the Dargah was secular, attracting people from all faiths

The main building of K R Market.

Flower Sellers inside K R Market.The central courtyard was abustle with vendors and customers, striking their bargains.

Though the market appeared really messy, there were cleaning activities going on all the time. One must think that this must be a really thankless job!

We walked across to the Bangalore Fort. The Fort is maintained by Archaeological Society of India, and is redolent of Bangalore militant past...the city was fortified in 1537.

The group walking around the fort made a pretty picture, too!

It was lovely to see that while we were immersed in the past, the future was also being put into place...we watched this wedding procession in front of the Palace,with drums and pomp and pageantry, that has changed little since Tipu's times!

Tipu Sultan's Palace. The facade of the palace is itself light and airy, and hides two storeys within a seemingly single-storey structure...an inscription describes it as the "abode of Happiness and the Envy of Heaven"!

Pillars at Tipu Sultan's palace - beautiful fluted wooden pillars on stone bases.

Thank you, Chandrasekhar, Champaka, Suresh Jayaram, for a very informative and absorbing morning, when we walked...into history, and came back to the present, awed and impressed!

The "Paytay, Kotay, Kerey, Thota" of the walk

The "Paytay", roughly translated, means "commercial centre". The Krishna Rajendra Market area definitely continues to be one, from the time, approximately one hundred and fifty years ago, when it was designated as a commercial area. It remains, even today, a bustling hive of trade.

Apart from other businesses, K.R. Market, part of the old city area, is an important centre for those who buy flowers on a wholesale basis. Roses, 'kakda', 'mallige', 'kanakambaras', 'sevanthige', asters, 'chendu hoo' and 'rudrakshi chendu hoo' are bought from wholesale flower market ('hoovina mandi') and other places like Hosur, Timmapura, Salem and Tiruvannamalai of Tamilnadu, Nelamangala, Doddaballapura, Anekal, Chikkaballapura, Hebbal and Kumblahalli of Hoskote District.

Tipu Sultan's Fort

In the busy, crowded City Market area lies the remnants of Tipu's Fort. Originally this fort was built by Chikkadeva Raya and was later extended, dimantled and rebuilt by Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan.

The "Kotay" refers to this fort. Originally this fort was built by Chikkadeva Raya and was later extended, dismantled and rebuilt by Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan.

What remains now is parts of the fort wall with a tablet marking the place where Cornwallis had breached it in 1791. In the courtyard is the Ganesha Temple that is popularly thought to represent Tipu Sultan's religious tolerance. The fort is noted for its beautifully carved arches on the gate walls.

Close to the fort are the remains of Tipu's Palace. Haider Ali started the construction which was completed by Tipu Sultan in 1791. It was used as a summer retreat, known as the "Abode of Peace". Currently the settings evoke memories of a two storied ornate wooden structure with pillars, arches and balconies.

The "Keray" refers to the ponds or, in Indian parlance, the "tanks" of the city...there was once such a water body in the K R Market area. The original quadrangle of the market was found on the tank bed; this was built up a few decades ago.

And the "Thota" (meaning garden or, in this instance, orchard) refers to the orchards which also existed in this area once upon a time...the orchards are now a memory, and live on only in the name, "Palace Orchards", in another area of Bangalore...but fruits are still available in plenty for sale, both wholsesale and retail, in the City Market.

The walk also covered two other landmarks:

The Dharmaraya Temple: Located at Nagarethpet in the heart of Bangalore, this temple is the starting point of the annual Karaga procession. The revered idols of this temple are the Shri Dharmaraya Swamy, hero of the Mahabharata and Lord Krishna, and the mother Goddess, Muthu Mariamman, is revered as Draupadi, the consort of the Pandavas.

Dargah Hazarath Tawakkal Mastan: This Muslim shrine, located in Cottonpet, a suburban locality, is associated with the Hindu Karaga festival too. The procession annually visits the Dargah of this Sufi saint, Tawakkal Mastan. His tomb attracts both Muslim and non-Muslim pilgrims ⊕

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